Theme: Fostering Innovation

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Trinity College Hall
262, D S Senanayake Veediya
Kandy, Madhyama paḷāta, 20000
Sri Lanka

Asitha Bandaranayake

Dr. Asitha Bandaranayake is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Peradeniya specializing in Computer Networking. He previously worked at Cisco Systems in the United States, where he was in charge of improving the WebVPN feature testing automation for Cisco Systems. His research experience has been in Wireless Mesh & Sensor Networks, Heterogeneous Networks, 4G/LTE, Voice over IP (VoIP), Software Defined Networking (SDN), Femtocell Networks, Vehicular Networks and Cognitive Radio

Jayantha Dhanapala

Former Under-Secretary General to the UN

Jayantha Dhanapala is a former United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs (1998-2003) and a former Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the USA (1995-7) and to the UN Office in Geneva (1984-87). He is currently the 11th President of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs; Deputy Chairman of the Governing Board of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and on several other advisory boards of international bodies. As a Sri Lankan diplomat Jayantha Dhanapala served in London, Beijing, Washington D.C., New Delhi and Geneva and represented Sri Lanka at several international conferences chairing many of them including the historic NPT Review and Extension Conference of 1995. He was Director of the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) from 1987-92.

Madhava Meegaskumbura

Dr. Madhava Meegaskumbura, currently a senior lecturer at the University of Peradeniya (Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology). He has worked with the climatically and ecologically sensitive frogs, and to a lesser extent, the freshwater fish and small mammals; but with his colleagues and students, he is probing deeper, using some of the latest analytical tools. Following a Ph.D. from Boston University and a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard University Centre for the Environment, he has published more than 50 research papers while describing nearly 30 species and 5 genera of frogs and fish. He serves as the IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) co-chairman for Sri Lanka. He has received the “Belamarich Award for the outstanding Ph.D. thesis“, a “Top Ten Species Award” and several “Presidential Awards for Scientific Research”.

Sabina Omar

Sabina is currently the Group Head of Legal for the Hirdaramani Group of Companies. She has previously worked with John Keells Holdings PLC and thereafter served as Vice President Legal, at Copal Amba. She holds an English Honours degree from the University of Colombo, with a specialization in gender and identity in literature. She is also an Attorney-at-Law. She has contributed her experience and expertise to issues relating to women, children, health and well being, including issues that need to be addressed both globally and nationally in relation to the empowerment of women, men and protection of the rights of children and vulnerable social groups. In addition to being passionate about the arts and literature she loves travelling and being outdoors, spending time on the yoga mat, swimming and open water diving.

Vihanga Perera

Vihanga Perera has been active in writing between 2006 and the present in a range of genres that include Poetry, Short Fiction, Longer Fiction, Non-fictional Prose and the blogsphere. To date, he has published 4 collections of poetry, 4 works of fiction, 2 collections of short fiction, 2 works of non-fictional prose and a collection of essays on literature. His more recent work includes Music. Death. (2016), Love and Protest (2015), and Postcards to Bentham (2013). He is also the co-author of The Pen of Granite (2015), a commemorative work on the slain journalist/artist, Richard de Zoysa. Vihanga was the winner of the Gratiaen Prize in 2014. He has been shortlisted for the same in 2006 and 2008.Vihanga has been educated at Kingswood College and the University of Peradeniya. He holds Bachelors and Masters qualifications from the latter institute. He is also a freelance writer on the arts and society and has been a columnist to three national weeklies between 2009 and 2012.